Something Gained
by Vumbu1
Summary: A completely new story with both old and new characters.
1. Disclaimer

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters. There are times when I'd like to own them, but this is purely for enjoyment while I wait for the next Harry Potter book to be released. Please don't sue me! 


	2. New Beginnings

You know, it's a very strange thing to find out that all that you thought was true turned out to be not so true. In fact it all turned out to be horribly strange and surreal. I've always been a bit strange to tell the truth. I was always the one who was rejected by the other kids because I was smart, sucked at sport, or made strange things happen at the most inopportune times. It all became clear to me why this happened but it still hurt when I was teased and ridiculed by the simpletons I used to go to school with. The sport thing had been the bane of my existence up until then. I found it to be the worst thing in the world to try your heart out and still not manage to run faster than snail pace, plus running sucks! The other kids always teased me because of my poor hand-eye-ball coordination, and I really and truly never understood any of the games rules! But you have no idea what it feels like to come home one day, when your last class was P.E., and you look like you're returning from a fierce battle. Your knees are scraped and bleeding, your shins bruised from merciless girls brandishing hockey sticks, your sports uniform is covered in mud, and there at the kitchen is your great, great aunt, who smiles sweetly at you before dropping the bomb that you're a witch. All of a sudden your entire world is turned upside down and will never be the same again. The next thing I knew, I had been ripped up from my home in South Africa and banished to live in exile in England with my estranged aunt. And all this so that I can attend the prestigious Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It's a very interesting way to celebrate your eleventh birthday! Since then I've forgiven my parents and now agree with them. Attending Hogwarts was the best thing that had ever happened to me, and dreams can even come true out of what seem to be nightmares. So this is my story.  
  
'So here I am, on my way to dreary boring 'Ole England! I'm so angry I could die! Who do my parent think they are anyway? They can't force me to go to school somewhere where I don't want to be!  
  
'Well, Elizabeth, they just did, and u'd better get used to it! This is what I have to keep telling myself, but it doesn't make leaving home any easier. I just know I'm going to be miserable, I just know it!'  
The young girl sat writing in her diary while the world seemed to slip past through the windows of the airplane. The music on the radio changed and Elizabeth found her pencil idly drifting across the page of her journal jotting down the words of the Incubus song.  
I dig my toes into the sand,  
  
The ocean looks like a blue blanket with a thousand diamonds strewn on it.  
  
I lean into the wind and pretend I'm weightless  
  
And in this moment I am happy.  
The words of that song always meant a lot to her. The idea of being happy in a simple thing like pretending you can fly was something she never knew. Something she'd really like. To be happy.  
I wish you were here  
  
I wish you were here.  
  
The man sitting in the seat next to Elizabeth was fascinated by the girl. He didn't know what it was that drew his attention but he found himself watching her closely. She had to be about ten maybe eleven, the same age as his son, he thought. She had long honey blond almost golden brown hair and stormy gray-green eyes. Quite a defined and sulky mouth, much like a girl he saw on a T.V program he saw once while staying in a muggle hotel on one of his numerous business trips.  
  
While she was sitting there writing in her diary she looked anything but peaceful. Maybe that was it, the reason why he couldn't stop looking at her. She had such a, a maturity for someone her age. He wondered how a girl so young could look so angry at the world. What had happened to make her grow up so quickly?  
  
He lent his head against the headrest thinking about his own children at home. He had for beautiful children that all favored him. Each had dark hair in various shades of black, were each small for their ages but would shoot up unexpectedly later on in life, and two of them had his eyes. In temperament they were all his wife's though he chuckled. Caring, compassionate, funny, and easily riled.  
  
He loved his wife more than life itself and had finally achieved what he'd wanted since he could remember, have a family. He hated these trips. Being away for weeks at a time, running from meeting-to-meeting-to-meeting, missing seeing his children grow up. He was physically and mentally exhausted! That's why he was flying home. It would have been so much easier and faster to apparate, but in his state off mind it wasn't worth risking getting splinched.  
  
He took a photograph of his family out of his wallet. How he missed them! He couldn't wait to get home. The house in Kent would be a welcomed sight right about now. The little cottage in the country had been Ginny's idea, she maintained that it would be the best place to raise four kids and he happily agreed. He could hardly wait to return to Gurthlow Cottage. 


	3. Meet Aunt Arabella

The airport terminal was noisy and crowded, as all airports are, and the noise was making Elizabeth incredibly confused and disorientated. She scanned the crowd looking for a familiar face, fighting back the tears that stung here eyes. She'd rather die before she admitted how scared she was, but her hands were visibly shaking as she gripped her passport and immigration papers tightly. It's not a pleasant thing for a ten-year-old girl to be in a foreign country, far away from everything familiar. To be by herself made it even worse.  
  
A smiling old lady spotted her and quickly began pushing her way through the crowd to get to her. "Hello Elizabeth, do you remember me?" The lady asked smiling kindly. All Elizabeth could do was nod. "What say we get away from all this noise and go home?" Once again Elizabeth nodded, although this time much more enthusiastically. The lady smiled at the girl. Sympathy shone in her eyes as she took Elizabeth by the hand and led her to a bank of elevators at the far end of the terminal.  
  
They entered the nearest elevator silently, and began to climb to the top floor. The old lady pulled a green stone from her handbag and showed it to the girl. "What's that Aunt Arabella?" She asked curiously.  
  
"This Love, is a portkey when you touch it will take us to my house in Kent. Alright quickly now, touch it, just a finger will do." Elizabeth's hand slowly crept towards the portkey and as soon as she touched it, they vanished. Harry Potter's emerald green eyes desperately searched for a deserted spot to apparate from. His eyes darted back and forth before landing on a completely unexpected sight. His old Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Arabella Figg was standing talking to the girl from the plane. She was smiling kindly, trying not to look too sorry for the girl, taking her by the hand and leading her to a bank of elevators.  
  
Two things struck Harry at that moment. The first was apparating from an empty elevator was a very good idea, and the second was that now that he was looking closely he saw that the two people he was watching had to be related. They had features that were very similar to each other, their noses, and their builds.  
  
Harry's mind was too mixed up to start unraveling this new mystery now. He ran his hand through his hair making it even messier than normal and made his way to the elevators so he could apparate and go home to his family.  
  
Elizabeth looked up from the floor a bit dazed. That was the strangest thing she'd ever gone through! She had felt a sharp tug from her bellybutton, and then she felt like she was zooming through the air, and then she'd landed on the floor.  
  
Aunt Arabella was bustling around talking to her. "I almost didn't recognize you, you grown so much since I last saw you. So tall, you'll be shooting up like a beanstalk if you don't stop soon!" She joked.  
  
"Aunt Arabella how did you know it was me then?" Elizabeth asked timidly. "You were the only one who looked like a lost fart in a perfume factory." She answered putting the child at ease immediately. Elizabeth laughed, she knew she was going to like being with her great, great aunt if nothing else while she was here.  
  
"Come Love, let's take a tour of the house, you can choose which bedroom you'd like." And together they walked hand in hand through the house. Aunt Arabella gave a running commentary about who did what in which room and Elizabeth chose the bedroom that'd be her home for at least the next eighteen years. To her aunt's surprise, Elizabeth Rivers decided she was going to live in the attic.  
  
The gentle summer breeze wafted through the open windows in Elizabeth's bedroom lifting her from her dreams. Slowly she rolled over and blinked her eyes trying to remember where she was.  
  
The room had changed completely from when she arrived, Aunt Arabella had helped her decorate it and together they had transformed it into her dream room. The roof was plastered with every star constellation in the southern hemisphere and Aunt Ari had charmed them to change with the seasons like real stars. They had painted the walls a very pale yellow and scrubbed all the windows, but the best had been when the crate from South Africa had arrived with all her things from home.  
  
Elizabeth had set-up all her muggle toys and possessions to her liking and in the end it was quite transformed, although how long it would stay clean was unknown as Elizabeth was notoriously messy.  
  
Quickly Elizabeth jumped out of bed, dressed, and ruthlessly yanked her hair into a messy ponytail. Rushing to one of the windows she peered out into the early morning, the dew sparkled on the grass and the sun glinted of the sea below her. She breathed deeply and smiled before she turned to creep down the stairs.  
  
Elizabeth silently closed the backdoor behind her before running across the lawn to the great big barn she'd been dying to get into since she saw it four days ago.  
  
She hadn't been idle since her arrival. She'd thoroughly explored the countryside and most of the nearby village as well. The explorations had revealed that the long dirt road that ran past the cottage had seven other houses on it. Two of them were empty and quite obviously summer houses, one had a very grumpy old man living in it who didn't like nosey little girls too much, three had rather nice elderly couples in them who, like most old people loved to shove stale biscuits down your throat and follow that up with near sour milk in tea. The last house was the one Elizabeth liked the most besides the one she lived in. It had a rather large family living in it; there were four children, a mother and a father and all of them looked very much alike. They laughed a lot and that's what Elizabeth liked.  
  
Pushing open the barn door she peered round it into the gloomy building. A terrible musty smell assailed her nose; it smelt like something was very wet and very old was lying in there somewhere. Elizabeth's eyes slowly adjusted to the dark and then widened in wonder. All around her were the memorabilia that her family had accumulated over the years. An old rocking horse stood forlornly to one side, chest upon chest, upon chest were piled on top of one another against one wall, papers were scattered everywhere, and everything was covered thickly in dust. It was a nosey-parker's dream!  
  
Elizabeth quickly set to work delving into the nearest chest to see what she could find. The morning flew past as she dug up her family secrets, finding things that belonged to people who had long ago died. She found an old BB Gun along with a box of lead pellets, Elizabeth smiled at the thought of shooting jam tins of the cliff into the sea, a really cool old hat with feathers coming out the back, hoards of clothes from each era dating back from the late 1900's, and lots of scrapbooks and photo albums. But the best find was the old tennis and badminton rackets. Elizabeth smiled looking down at them, if there was one sport she was good at it was those two. She'd definitely have fun with those! 


	4. An Escape

'It's been quite an eventful week,' Arabella mused at breakfast one morning. She looked across the table at the girl who'd changed so much in the short space of a week. The 'deer-caught-in-the-headlights' look had completely disappeared, and in its place was the 'I'm-determined-not-like- it-here-but-it's-alright' look.  
  
Elizabeth looked up from her plate, 'Here it comes, another question.' Arabella thought. "Aunt Arabella? Why do you have such a big house if you live alone?" She asked with those big, intelligent eyes boring into her aunt.  
  
"I didn't always live alone. I was born here with my twin sister, Abigail, your great, great grandmother. She got married and we all lived here together until she died. Then I had to go live somewhere else for a while because of my job. Your grandfather lived here all his life, and both you and your father were born here. Did you know that?  
  
"This old house has been in the family forever, and I couldn't imagine living anywhere else. Did you know the cottage has a name? Most cottages in this area do and this one's name is Lilies View. It's named for the lilies that grow on the mountain side in the summer." Arabella explained.  
  
Elizabeth soaked up the information with an enchanted expression on her face. Arabella had quickly found out that the child loved anything that had a story behind it. The name of the house had obviously tickled her fancy. Maybe the history of the house did too.  
  
"What do you want to do today?" Arabella asked. Elizabeth shrugged, "would you like to learn how to ride?"  
  
"Ride what?" The little girl asked perplexed.  
  
"Well, a horse of course silly! I have a large stable here and you can choose a mare for yourself if you'd like." It was clear from Elizabeth's face that she would indeed like.  
  
"There are responsibilities though. If you own a horse you care for it too. Make sure it has water, food, and its stall is mucked out. That goes for any animals you find and decide bring home as well." Arabella said sternly, deciding to give the girl something to do while she was here. Who knows maybe she'll find a release in it.  
  
"Understood." Elizabeth said seriously before her sunny smile played to the surface. Arabella smiled in turn offering her hand so she could show Elizabeth the stable. The rest of the morning was spent outside in the sunshine as the natural talent for horses that Elizabeth had came into play.  
  
And so I found something in England that I actually liked. After a lot of begging and pleading Aunt Arabella finally caved and let me have a gelding. He was a beautiful creature, a palomino, and I named him Southern Breeze. Corny I know, but I was terribly homesick and longed for something to remind me of the land I left behind. Plus I was ten! But I think that horse, among other things, saved me from myself and for that I'm eternally grateful. Aunt Arabella was an incredibly smart woman. 


	5. Harry's Offpring

The Platform was just as crowded and noisy as Harry remembered it from his own school days. The older students milled in all directions, and the first years stood out like sore thumbs because of the petrified expressions they all wore. Harry's eyes darted around the platform watching what was going on, in the corner an elderly women stood with what seemed like ten children gathered around her. She looked to be handing out pre-packed lunches and giving last minute orders to her brood. The sight reminded Harry so much of his mother-in-law that he couldn't help chuckling to himself as the memories crowded his mind.  
  
A flash of red near the rear of the train alerted him of what he was looking for, his best friend and now brother-in-law, Ron Weasley. Harry grinned and waved as he made his way over to Ron all the while making sure that the boy he was accompanying was still by his side.  
  
"All right Harry?" Ron asked grinning back.  
  
"All right Ron." Harry answered, "All right Billy-Bob?" Harry asked looking at the tall gangly eleven-year-old next his friend.  
  
"Just fine Uncle Harry." The boy replied matching his father's grin.  
  
As the final boarding warning echoed through the station both fathers pulled out the checklists their wives had drawn up, running through them and adding items of the own. When the formalities were done they each said their final good-byes to each of the boys.  
  
"Matt," Harry said talking to his son, "your mother told me to tell you not to get into trouble, but don't forget the tradition you need to uphold okay?"  
  
"Yes sir!" the boy answered grinning mischievously, "and let me guess, 'Don't do anything I wouldn't do?'"  
  
"Something like that. Now get on that train young man." Harry said giving him a hug then shooing him onto the train after his cousin. Both boys waved then disappeared into the throng of student clamouring onto the train. Harry shook his head slowly before turning to Ron, "you know this doesn't feel right."  
  
"I know, it feels like it should be us on that train." Ron said seriously. Harry just nodded.  
  
"Come on we have to meet the others at the pub, so put on that devil-may- care face you're famous for." Harry said attempting to be cheery. Ron's brothers would tease the living daylights out of them if they were sulking when they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron.  
  
"Yeah, you're right. Come on let's go." Ron said turning to leave quickly Harry followed him. 


	6. Let's Hear it for the Boys

Elizabeth sighed heavily to herself as she shouldered her way through the throngs of people on the Hogwarts Express. The noise of hundreds of children chatting loudly to their friends hurt her ears; the hundred pairs of feet heading in all directions were not easy to keep track of either. Elizabeth had been trodden on several times and now her feet too were aching.  
  
She lent against the wall barely escaping being stepped on for the eighth time that day when tall redheaded boy noticed her. "Let me guess, first year?" He asked kindly putting a hand on her shoulder and guiding her into an almost empty compartment.  
  
"That obvious, huh?" Elizabeth replied.  
  
"Pretty much, yeah. I'm Cecil, I'm in fifth year so you can say I know the ropes."  
  
"Elizabeth." She answered holding out her hand to shake his, which he did though very much amused. "Is it always so crazy out there?"  
  
"Yep. Don't worry you get used to it though. The trick is to get here early and grab an empty compartment, then don't come out 'till the train's moving."  
  
"Thanks I'll remember that," Elizabeth laughed and shifted the wicker basket she was carrying to her other hand.  
  
"Come on, Elizabeth, I'll help you find some place to pass the journey."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"No prob. Follow me." Cecil said as he headed down the passage towards the end of the train. After a few minutes he stopped out side a compartment that was glowing strange colours and emitting sparks. He turned to her with an expression that was very hard to read, it seemed to be merriment and apprehension mixed in one.  
  
"Now listen to me. I'm not leaving you here because I don't like you. I just can't think of anything else to do with you. If they step out of line just tell them where to get off and you'll be fine. Don't take any of their crap and just have a good time, all right?"  
  
Elizabeth looked at Cecil perplexed. What was he going on about? Was he sending her into the den of some unimaginable monster?  
  
"Elizabeth," Cecil said motioning into the compartment, "these are my darling baby cousin's and my pain baby brother. That one there, is Robert," here he pointed at a tall scrawny boy her age who also had bright red hair and freckles. His hair was standing out in all directions and looked very bushy, but his bright brown eyes sparkled with mischief and hidden intelligence. Elizabeth took quite a liking to him. "He's my cousin and is actually smarter than he looks. That is Liam." He Pointed at the other redhead, who was shorter and stockier in build. He looked a lot like Cecil. They had the same big blue eyes and stubborn chins. Their hair was also much calmer than the other two's but also had the same mischievous glint in their eyes. "He, unfortunately, is my brother and a right pain in the neck. And last but certainly never least if you get to know him well enough is Matthew. My other cousin who isn't quite all he seems, even I haven't figured him out yet. Boys meet Elizabeth." The boys who were all looking rather sourly at Cecil mumbled a mutual "Hi".  
  
Cecil said his good-byes and left in a short while leaving Elizabeth with three grumpy pre-teenage boys. She looked around at them waiting for them to say something. They didn't. Shrugging Elizabeth sat down and set the basket on the floor at her feet. "'Scuse me, but what are you doing?" Robert asked.  
  
"Are you blind?" She replied.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I said are you blind. Obviously you're deaf too. So for the deaf, dumb, blind, and indifferent I'm sitting. It's when you bend your legs at the knees and balance your upper body on a solid object. Normally a chair." Elizabeth replied standing up and demonstrating how you sit.  
  
"I know what sitting is!" Robert replied indignantly.  
  
"So why did you ask?"  
  
"Let me rephrase then. Why are you sitting here?"  
  
"Two reasons. Firstly because I won't to, secondly because there's nowhere else, Robert was it?" she asked.  
  
"Don't call me that." He spat. Elizabeth lifted her shoulders innocently before burying her nose in the booked she'd dug out of her backpack while having a 'conversation' with the incurably rude boy. Even though she was reading she could feel all three boys' eyes on her, and though she ignored them they just kept staring at her.  
  
"Oh for pity's sake! It's a book, you do know what that is don't you?"  
  
"Yes, we do," answered the Liam boy. "I'd like to apologize for my cousin. He hates being called Robert. Cecil does it to irritate him and he takes the bait every time."  
  
"What do you want me to call you then?" Elizabeth asked the red-haired and red-faced boy.  
  
"Bobby. Everyone except Cecil does."  
  
"All right, Bobby. Does anyone else here have a language preference?" Elizabeth asked looking at each boy. Matthew slowly raised his hand. Elizabeth looked at him expectantly while observing him at the same time. He didn't look anything like his cousin's at all. In fact if you hadn't been told you would never have expected him to be related to the Strawberry Bunch. He had deep chocolate eyes that were so dark they almost looked black. His hair was pitch black and multidirectional though not bushy like Bobby's. He looked small for his age but strong and she betted that he'd looked very good if his lost the little-lost-sheep-look and smiled a bit.  
  
"Um.if you don't mind.I'm Matt." He stuttered as if he was petrified of her.  
  
"Matt." She confirmed smiling, "and you guys can call me any variation of Elizabeth you like."  
  
"Cool." Liam said also smiling as if he'd just decided she wasn't so bad.  
  
"Aw isn't that sweet. I think I'm going to hurl!" A surly voice sounded from the door. All four of their head snapped up to look at the intruder. In the door way stood a small platinum hair boy wearing a disdainful sneer that somehow didn't suit him. His icy eyes shone maliciously as he surveyed the scene before. "Did the Pothead's and Weasels befriend a new mud-blood friend?"  
  
"Shove it Malfoy!" Matt hissed dangerously. The venom in his voice surprised Elizabeth; she hadn't thought him capable of it.  
  
"Where are your meathead friends Vinny?" Asked Liam glaring Malfoy down.  
  
"Gee, I don't know, should I go get them?" Malfoy asked sarcastically.  
  
"Good idea, it'll be more fun if we had a challenge. You on your own is a pushover, haven't I proved that all ready?" Matt asked sweetly. Malfoy visibly paled if it was before. Without a word he spun on his heal and left as the boys dissolved into gales of laughter which chased Malfoy all the way back to his own compartment.  
  
"Who was that?" Elizabeth asked when he'd left.  
  
"Vindictous Malfoy. He's in my year." Liam replied gasping for breath, "He has these two idiot body guards who follow him every where he went. And our parents went to school and hated his parents so it's kind of tradition to hate his guts."  
  
"Do you remember when Matt pounded the daylights out of him?" Bobby asked joyfully. Matt started laughing even harder than he had been before. "That was the funniest thing I ever saw!"  
  
"It was the easiest thing I've ever done!" Matt said trying vainly to control himself.  
  
"My dad says it was the proudest moment of his life. I beat up Malfoy and he's nearly two years older than me." He said trying to explain what they were talking about to Elizabeth; the only problem was she could figure out what he'd said through the laughter.  
  
The rest of the train ride was uneventful thank heavens! I don't think I could have stood it being anymore exciting. Being around those boys was like being in a circus, you never ran out of reasons to laugh. Bobby was the clown, Liam was the lion tamer who continually kept the peace, and Matt was the reluctant ringleader. He was the one who kept everyone in line and when he said jump you said how high?  
  
On that ride to Hogwarts I learnt all about their oddball family. Which is huge, and that's without the distant relatives! Liam's the youngest of four brothers; his father's twin brother had four girls all the same ages as Liam's brothers. Their other uncle had two girls, and their other uncle had a set of twin and a spare. Bobby was an only child, but his parents wanted more. (His mum was having trouble falling pregnant again.) And Matt was the eldest of four he had three sisters. All this had me thanking God I'm an only child! I've changed my mind though; since I've met them all I decided that big families are great. 


	7. Welcome to Hogwarts

Night silently crept into the train about an hour before they reached the station. Elizabeth left the boys so she could change into her school robes. They were very plain compared to the older student's. She wore the same pleated gray skirt, and black robe, but instead of the brightly coloured ties and ribbed gray jumpers hers were plain black.  
  
The Hogwarts Express pulled into the station as Elizabeth came out of the bathroom. Silently she followed the crowd out onto the platform searching for the boys. A booming voice called out over the noisy students, "Firs' years! Firs' years this way!" Looking up toward the voice Elizabeth saw an abnormally large man, who towered above everyone. At his feet, well she guessed they were his feet, was a large group of nervous looking children. Elizabeth shouldered her way to the man and followed just like everyone else did.  
  
He led them to the edge of a large lake where hundreds of little boats were moored. "Righ' everyone, four te a boat. There ye are lass," He sat taking her arm and steering her toward a boat, " Righ' everybody ready? Less go then." He tapped the edge of the boat and they all started of steering themselves to the same direction.  
  
Soon a collective gasp ran through the first years, Elizabeth's head snapped up from the water she was staring at and there in front of her was the most wonderful sight. A large castle loomed ahead with many turrets pointing high into the clear nights sky. The windows shone lights that flickered through the glass, and played on the water of the lake. It was a sight Elizabeth never forgot.  
  
Soon the castle vanished from view as the boats slipped into a cave and gently bumped against the lake edge. The giant, whose name was Hagrid she found out, led them down a passage into a large chamber that was eerily lit by torches burning in brackets against the wall. Hagrid walked up to a door at the end of the chamber and knocked loudly. The door swung open and revealed a short slim witch with bushy hair and big brown eyes.  
  
" All righ' 'Ermione? I brought the fris' years for ye." Hagrid said.  
  
"Thank you Hagrid." She smiled at the giant before turning her attention to the children gathered before her. "Good evening kids, the Sorting Ceremony is about to begin, but first let me tell you a little about the Houses you might be sorted into.  
  
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was founded by four great magical people. Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin. Each prided a different quality from the students they wanted to teach. While you are here at Hogwarts your house will be your second home. You will eat, sleep, socialize, and take classes with your fellow house members. You will be awarded house points for your achievements and good behaviour," Here she looked directly at the Potter and Weasley children, "And penalized for bad behaviour. At the end of the year the house with the most House points will be awarded the House Cup.  
  
Is that all understood? Good then if you'll follow me we'll walk through these doors and into the great hall. There you will line up in single file and wait for your name to be called. Once you have been sorted please join your table at once so we don't clog up the system. Everyone ready? Right then let's go." She turned smartly and headed through the huge oak door she was standing in front of. Silently and nervously the students followed her into the deathly quite Great Hall.  
  
Elizabeth felt very nervous as the multiple eyes of the Great Hall scrutinized her. Which house would she be put in? Would she even be put in a house? What would her family think if she got sorted into Slytherin? What if the sorting hurt?  
  
All these questions and more were running through her head so fast that she was giving herself a headache. The witch that had greeted them came up onto a raised platform, carrying a battered, three-legged stool and a scruffy, old hat. All Eyes in the hall fell on the hat as it opened a rip near the brim and began to sing. 


	8. Letters Home

Dear Aunt Ari,  
  
Well, here I am in my new common room at Hogwarts, writing you this letter as you asked. The train ride here was very.eventful. I met a some wonderful people, but made friends with these three really cool boys who are all in my house. Their names are Liam, Matt, and Bobby, and they're all cousins believe it or not.  
  
When we got to the station a giant named Hagrid took us on a boat ride over this huge lake. Apparently there is this giant octopus or something that lives in it, and Matt says there're mermaids too! His dad went swimming in it once, that's something I'd like to try one day. The first few view of the castle was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen! The castle is so big I think it'll take me forever to learn my way around. The staircases change and the walls play tricks on you, how did you ever survive?  
  
The Sorting Ceremony was a very interesting thing to go through. To think I was terrified to be sorted, when I found out that all I had to do was try on a hat I nearly died laughing! (Now I'm getting to the part you've been waiting for since I started this letter.) I can't really remember the song the hat sang it was all about the witches and wizards that meant nothing to me really. The Deputy Headmistress called up my name, and the hat was put on my head and then it began speaking to me! It said:  
  
"Ahh, now you're an interesting little one! The best mind I've sat on in years, (that is saying something because I've sat on some great heads), but I don't think that Ravenclaw will do you justice. I see you can be quite crafty but not enough for Slytherin My dear. You're loyal too, that's good.very good. No, I think I'll put you in.GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
So here I am in the Gryffindor common room, aren't you proud? You were a Gryffindor too weren't you Aunt Ari? According to Bobby all the Weasleys in history went to Gryffindor and from what I've seen it's by far the best house.  
  
I'd better go; it's nearly time for lights out. See you for Christmas Aunty!  
  
All my love Your great, great grand niece  
  
Elizabeth. 


	9. Pranks and Apologies

Elizabeth woke with a start one morning. She was to two months into her first year a Hogwarts and still had trouble waking up in the morning. This wasn't anything new; it was no secret that Elizabeth was no morning person. The morning bell tolled loudly through the school waking all the late sleepers telling them they had ten minutes until breakfast.  
  
Elizabeth rolled over in bed and looked at her watch on the bedside table. "Oh not again!" She groaned. It was quarter to seven! Every day since school started she had been late for breakfast. Jumping out of bed she hurtled to the bathroom and jumped into the shower. That was a good thing about Hogwarts the water was always hot. Getting dressed as fast as she could Elizabeth hoped that by the time she got down to the Great Hall, there'd be some breakfast left. She dragged a brush through her wet hair and expertly flipped it up, grabbed her school-rode and ran all the way down to the Great Hall.  
  
Sliding into her seat between Matt and Bobby, Elizabeth set about piling a plate high with food before it disappeared. Matt and Bobby looked at her with matching amused expressions.  
  
"Hungry?" Matt asked trying hard not to laugh.  
  
"No, but I'm late again. I have to eat before class, or I won't make it." Elizabeth answered distractedly. Matt and Bobby started to laugh; alarm bells went off in Elizabeth's head. "What did you do?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"Tell me, Matthew!" She said forcefully.  
  
"Well, now I've seen everything! What are you doing down here so early Elizabeth?" Liam asked sitting down looking at the laughing boys and highly irritated Elizabeth.  
  
"It's quarter.Oh! Matthew Potter I will KILL YOU!" She said lunging at him while he just sat there laughing. It took both Bobby and Liam five minutes to pull her off their cousin, who was still laughing.  
  
Elizabeth found out later that day that the boys had changed the time on her watch to be an hour earlier. She spent the rest of the day seething. The strange thing was that no matter how hard she tried she couldn't stay mad at Matt. He was so sweet, he came to apologize whenever he was wrong, and calling her by the nickname he'd given her. She always caved.  
  
"Beth, can I talk to you please?" Matt asked tapping her on the shoulder.  
  
"What?" She replied a little harsher than she intended.  
  
"I.Uh. that is. I wanted to apologize for being a complete ass. And for the watch .thing." Matt stuttered looking at the ground.  
  
"I forgive you, just don't do it again, you hear me?"  
  
"Come on it was pretty funny!" Matt grinned at her. Beth smiled back; she had to admit it was funny. She must have looked a sight wolfing down her food like she was trying to catch a train at quarter to six in the morning!  
  
"McGonnagall is going to kill us if we're late you know."  
  
"Yeah, yeah I know. Come on let's go." They walked off to class chatting amiably as if they'd known each other all their lives. 


	10. On Magical Adjustmen and Family Matters

The thing Beth found most fascinating about Hogwarts was her lessons. She had fallen in love with Charms the moment she'd stepped into the classroom. Tiny Professor Flitwick had taken an immediate liking to her as well. She was regularly seen talking to him about some charm she'd found in some textbook or another.  
  
Of course this earned her unmerciful teasing from the boys who all firmly believed the less time spent doing homework the better. Generally Beth had to agree with that philosophy. There were so many better things to be doing than slaving away writing icky potions essays that didn't matter anyway, but she was totally addicted to Charms.  
  
Other classes she loved were transfigurations and Defense Against the Dark Arts. They were both completely intriguing subjects. She was hopeless at flying, loathed potions (although she seemed to have a natural talent for it. Beth supposed that if the professor wasn't such a git she might've liked it.) Herbology was rather boring and History of Magic was the easiest thing she'd ever experienced.  
  
Matt and Bobby acted strangely to one of the teachers and Beth could never figure out why. The witch who'd greeted them at the beginning of the term, Professor Weasely, had to be the best teacher at Hogwarts. She taught a class you could take in your third year and up. Obviously Beth had guessed that she was related to the Weaselys, perhaps she was an older cousin or aunt or something. The only thing is that Beth didn't know how wrong she was.  
  
"Thank you, Professor Flitwick. See tomorrow!" Beth said as she came out of the charms classroom one Thursday afternoon. They'd just had a wonderful class and she was in an extremely good mood. She pushed through the crowds on her way to the Great Hall for lunch humming softly to herself. Probably the only thing she missed about home was her music system, being a complete music junkie and all. She turned into a deserted corridor so she wouldn't get trampled to death while she tied her shoelace.  
  
"Mum! Not now please! I'm going to be late for lunch." Beth heard Bobby say.  
  
"Bobby, please don't talk to me like a stupid child okay?" A female voice interrupted Bobby's tirade. "All I wanted to know was why you were upset. Shoot me for caring about my son!"  
  
"Mum!" At this point Beth looked up to see Professor Weasely standing at the end of the corridor scowling at Bobby. He seemed to cower beneath her glare and mumbled incoherently. Professor whipped round, and stormed back into what must have been her office. Beth stood quickly and hurried back into the streaming throng of students going to lunch.  
  
Bobby was Professor Weasly's son? So that's why the boys always acted to strangely around her! Now more than ever Beth wanted to know what Professor Weasely taught. She'd ask the boys at lunch, she decided.  
  
As usual lunch was a highly exuberant and noisy affair. The students were all discussing the events of the day in loud voices. The noise that resulted caused them to speak louder as to be heard over the din. Needless to say Beth was wishing she'd brought earmuffs with her.  
  
The only person who wasn't participating in the lively conversation was Bobby. He sat quietly next to Matt concentrating fiercely on his food, trying his hardest to ignore everyone around him, including Matt.  
  
Beth suspected it had to do something with his mother. Thinking of Professor Weasely Beth looked up at the teachers' table. She had never really looked at the professor before but she was looking now, and the fact that she new who the teacher was she noticed small similarities between mother and son.  
  
Professor Weasely was a tall, pretty, woman. She had long wavy chestnut hair that framed her face perfectly, and deep intelligent brown eyes that saw more than normal people could. Her nose was small and slightly upturned with one or two freckles dotting it. She had a pointed chin that looked like it could be very stubborn when she wanted it to, and she had a certain 'don't-mess-with-me' look about her. Beth decided she really liked her.  
  
"What is so fascinating up there?" Matt asked with a tinge of amusement in his voice.  
  
"I was just wondering what the other teachers taught," Beth improvised, not wanting Matt to know that she was inspecting his aunt. "There are more teachers than classes that we take, I was trying to figure out why."  
  
"That's an easy question." A voice behind her said. Beth whipped round to see who it was. Cecil sat down in the empty chair beside her.  
  
"Would you mind answering it then?" Beth asked.  
  
"Sure. You see there are more classes than the basic ones you take. When you reach third year you choose two extra classes and they become sort of like electives. There's all sorts of classes like Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, and Divinations. They help you in your chosen career after school."  
  
"Oh, I understand! So, who teaches what?" Beth asked eagerly.  
  
"Well, Au-ah Professor Weasely teaches Study of Ancient Runes, Hagrid teaches Care of Magical Creatures, Professor Trelawney teaches Divination, and there are a few more but I don't take their classes, I don't know what they teach."  
  
"Isn't Professor Weasely the Deputy Head Mistress?"  
  
"Yeah, and I right pain in the neck too." Bobby answered before turning back to his food. Beth raised an eyebrow at him wondering what had made him so touchy lately. She knew Professor Weasely was his mother but that was no reason to right her off in front of everyone. Shaking her head Beth decided she'd never understand boys, and right now she didn't even have the energy to try. Let them be petty it wasn't her fault if they were constantly in bad moods! 


	11. The Room Mates Guide to Names Changing

"I'm bored!" One of Beth's dorm mates sighed loudly. Her statement made two of the other girls start laughing hysterically much to the indignation to the first. "What's so funny?" She asked huffily  
  
"We had a bet on, I said it would take twenty minutes for you to say that. I won!"  
  
Was the response. Beth looked up from her book and smiled. She liked al three of her dorm mates, they were very funny lively people who were continually laughing at every thing.  
  
The first girl got all pouty because the others were making fun of her and defended herself by throwing a pillow at the other two. A vicious pillow fight soon started and Beth eagerly joined in. The girls were having so much fun they didn't notice the door slowly creek open or the forlorn little figure standing in the doorway.  
  
"Es-Excuse m-m-me." She said softly, but it didn't have much of an effect on the girls. She tried again, still nothing. Finally she shouted loudly over the shrieks and laughter, "EXCUSE ME!" In an instant the room was deathly quiet, everyone was staring at the newcomer as if they were frozen in place. "I-is this the, the first year g-g-girls dorm?" She stuttered shyly.  
  
Slowly the other girls lowered the pillows they were holding. "Um.I'll take that as a 'yes'," The small girl said nervously, "I'm your new roomy."  
  
They all stared at the frightened creature in front of them. The first thing Beth noticed were her eyes. They were the deepest blue she had ever seen, so deep, in fact, that they looked to be almost violet. Her hair was light brown and wildly curly and she was very short. She also looked like she was about to die of fright.  
  
"Hi. I'm Elizabeth, and these are Shannon, Tatum, and Suzanne." Beth said introducing them all and smiling kindly trying not to scare the girl any more than she already was.  
  
"I'm Emily. Emily Carte." She answered her great blue eyes flicking over each of their faces.  
  
"Please don't call me Shannon, I hate it. I'm Shay, Tatum is Tate, Suzanne is Zanne, and weather she likes it or not Elizabeth is Lizbeth. It's this thing we're doing all of us have had our names shortened, even the boys." Shay explained. It was in fact a game that she and one of the first year boys, Mark Johnson, had started a few weeks ago. She had called him Markie and he called her Shay, then they proceeded to give all the first years' new names. Shannon Alders was a tall girl with dark honey blonde hair, blue eyes and wasn't afraid of anyone or anything. She was extremely self-confident and out-going. Everyone liked her.  
  
"In that case, welcome to your new home, Emmy." Tate smiled cheekily. Tate, or Tatum Delaney, was the tomboy of the group, she hated the fact that she wasn't a boy and so she constantly acted like one. Her dark brown hair was chopped into a short urchin hairstyle and freckles peppered her nose and cheeks. She had the naughtiest grin Beth had ever seen and she was always wondering if Tate was up to something.  
  
"Let's get you settled in Miss Tardy." The last girl of the group was Suzanne Richards, commonly known as Zanne. She was a short, fiery girl with a hot temper and a wicked sense of humour. She had bobbed brown hair and caramel coloured eyes. Zanne made everyone laugh and was the clown of the first years who believed that fun came first and books second.  
  
"Um.Lisbeth? Why are you packing already? School doesn't end for another three days." Emmy said one afternoon in the girls' dormitory.  
  
"Yes, I know, but if I don't start now I'll never find all my stuff." Beth answered from under her bed.  
  
"Why?" Emmy asked again. She found all the girls that lived in her dorm incredibly confusing. Tate walked, talked, and acted like a boy twenty four hours a day, Zanne was an shameless flirt who had nothing better to do with her time than to lead the boys around on an imaginary chain, Shay was loud and talked so much that conversations with her were actually monologues, and now Beth was packing to go home three days early so that she could find her things! Was she the only normal person in this place?  
  
"I don't know if you noticed, but I'm probably the messiest person in the world." Beth began explaining. Emmy nodded her head in agreement. Beth was messy and it drove Emmy, a self-proclaimed neat freak, crazy! "So what I do is divide my living area into three and spent three days packing and searching for all my stuff. Today's the dorm, tomorrow's the common room, and Friday is the bathroom. That way I'm sure not to leave anything behind and I still have time to do other things." Emmy had to agree it was a good plan, strange, but good.  
  
Shaking her head she sat on her bed and watched Beth crawling around on the floor looking for lost quills. Beth's bed looked like a bomb had hit it; there were clothes, pieces of parchment, and quill everywhere. Perched precariously on a large pile of clothes was a large wicker basket, which had previously been under the bed. "What's the basket for?" Emmy asked.  
  
"My cat." Beth answered distractedly.  
  
"You have a cat?"  
  
"Ja, I do, she likes do be outside though so we don't see her often."  
  
"What breed is it?" Emmy asked eagerly. She loved cats but her family hadn't been able to afford one for her to take to school.  
  
"She's a chocolate point Siamese, her name's Tang. Don't ask she was called that by the breeder."  
  
"I love cats. I couldn't get one though, my parents thought it would be more useful to get an owl that we could all use."  
  
"So did my aunt," Beth laughed as she emerged from under her bed, "But I really wanted Tang so we got both. Our owl is for as to share but I got to name her." Beth wiped her hand across her face smearing a line of dust on her cheek. She looked at Emmy with a thoughtful expression on her face. "Em, may I ask you something?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Why were you late to start the school year?"  
  
"I got sick. At first we thought it was just the flu, but I got worse and worse, when we finally had enough money to get me to a doctor I had acute pneumonia. It a long time for me to get better." Emmy answered her eyes downcast as if she suddenly found the floor very interesting. Beth nodded her head and returned to her packing to give Emmy some space to breathe.  
  
After we found out what happened to Emmy we all made a special effort to make her part of the gang. She was very different from us. Where we were loud and boisterous, she was quiet and shy. She had strange little airs and graces that we found strange just as she found our habits strange. In the end we all became good friends and when you added the boys to our midst you had a whole lot of fun. We couldn't help ourselves, we were more trouble than the legendary Marauders themselves, and we loved every minute of it!  
  
My first year at Hogwarts was over before I knew it and in June I boarded the Hogwarts Express as a different person who'd passed all my classes with flying colours! I was so unbelievably happy for the first time in my life, and I couldn't wait to see my aunt. 


	12. Friendships

The waves crashed on to the beach as if they were trying to escape from the ocean. The salty sea spray leapt into the air soaking everything in its reach, and the wind rushed around chasing itself over the sand. Matt loved everything about this beach. It was his private haven and everything about it seemed to match his mood. When he was angry so was the ocean, when he was peaceful it was too. Every mood, every feeling he had was reflected by his beloved stretch of sand that lay under his house.  
  
Today was different though, he was bored and the ocean seemed to be taunting him. He sat glaring at the waves like they were insulting him. He'd come down here to get away from his annoying family but found no comfort where he normally looked for it. He'd been home for nearly two weeks and already he felt like he was going to go crazy of boredom!  
  
He was so absorbed in being angry that he didn't notice the strange noise that didn't belong to his beach. It was a rhythmic dum-dum, dum-dum like a galloping horse. Matt's head snapped up. There were no horses the far down the lane were there? He turned around from where he was standing and saw the large animal gracefully running in the wake of the waves, spraying water everywhere.  
  
It was coming towards very quickly and he could help but admire the smooth fluid motions it made. That's when Matt realize that he was standing in the path of a charging horse whose rider hadn't noticed him yet. Matt's mind raced, he had to get out of the way! He turned to run but his foot sank in the sand and he tripped falling flat on his face in the sand, his ankle throbbing madly.  
  
"OH! I'm so sorry I didn't notice you at all!" a voice invaded his pain drugged. It was a familiar voice that he knew well, but he could place it. He was vaguely aware of the sound of a person dismounting and felt a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself? Must I get help?"  
  
"Slow down, one question at a time please." He said gruffly.  
  
The hand on his shoulder froze, then with renewed effort the girl tried to turn him over. "Come on get up if you're not hurt, Matt." Matt turned round and slowly got up, it was only then that he got a good look at the girl he was leaning on.  
  
"Beth?" He asked perplexed, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I could ask you the same question actually, I live down the beach. Can you walk?" She asked her grey eyes full of concern and guilt. She had been having so much fun that she hadn't been watching where Southern was going. If she had been she would've slowed down in time. Matt took a step forward and his legs buckled beneath him.  
  
"I think I've sprained my ankle," he groaned.  
  
"All right hang on," Beth said as she ran for her horse.  
  
"What are you doing?" Matt asked the pain in his ankle was becoming worse; he had to get home so his mother could heal it.  
  
"I'm taking you home."  
  
"Do you know where I live?"  
  
"Well, no, but you're going to tell me."  
  
"And how are going to get me there?"  
  
"On my horse." She said as if it where the most obvious thing in the world. She led the horse right up to Matt and once again helped him up.  
  
"How am I supposed to get on that thing?" Matt asked sceptically.  
  
"Support your weight on your good leg, and put your knee in my hands. Then pull yourself up with your arms while I push your leg up. The swing it over the saddle." She explained, and then she got onto one knee and made a cradle with her hands. Matt did as she told him to with Beth correcting things he was doing wrong. He was surprised to find that it was actually easier than it looked.  
  
Once Matt was seated safely in the saddle Beth swung herself up in front of him. "Now, hold on tight alright?"  
  
"Okay." Matt answered. Beth gathered the reins in her had and gently kicked the horse in the side. He started to move forward.  
  
"Right, where to?" Beth asked over her shoulder. Matt told her where to go and Beth urged to horse to go faster and faster until they were travelling at a nice slow canter. Matt had never been on a horse before and was rather frightened though he would have died before he admitted that to Beth. She shouted at him to sit still and to move with the animal before picking up the pace again.  
  
In no time at all they were in sight of his house. It was called Gurthlow Cottage; the name came from mixing different letters from the names of each member of his family. His parents had moved here when his sister Charlotte had been born seven years ago. It was a beautiful house and a much better place to raise a family that their old house in London. "You live here?" Beth asked awed.  
  
"Yeah, why?"  
  
"I love this house! Are the little girls you're sisters?"  
  
"Yeah." Matt answered. Beth just nodded and stopped outside his outside his back door. "Stay here. I'll go in and get your mum."  
  
"I'm quite capable of walking myself!" Matt said indignantly.  
  
"No you're not. In case you don't remember, you have a severely sprained maybe broken ankle. You'll damage it more if you try to walk on it, so stay here." Beth answered leaving no room for argument. Matt crossed his arms angrily over his chest and sulked as Beth walked up to the house and knocked on the door. ~*~*~ Ginny picked a teddy bear up of the living room floor and smiled to herself. She loved her children they were the most beautiful creatures on the planet as far as she was concerned. Each one reminded her so strongly of Harry, either in looks or character. Matt was his father's child through and through, Lucy had Harry's temper and control, Tessa had his eyes, and Lotty his sense of adventure. They all had dark hair, though the girls had Ginny's red highlights, and they were what her world revolved around.  
  
Ginny had changed a lot since her Hogwarts days. Her figure had changed shape having carried and delivered four children, although she was still tall and slim her figure was fuller. Her hair was now worn in a short bob, but her eyes stilled held their schoolgirl charm and she had laugh lines radiating from the corners of her eyes. All in all she was a very good looking thirty-two years of age.  
  
Ginny heard a very quite knock at the back door just as she was about to head upstairs to check on Charlotte. Puzzled Ginny turned and headed for the kitchen. No one ever knocked, they always just aparated or flooed. When she entered the kitchen Ginny saw a small girl standing on the doorstep. She looked to be about eleven and had long, curly blonde hair and was wearing riding boots and jodhpurs.  
  
"Hello. Can I help you?" Ginny asked gently smiling at the girl through the screen door.  
  
"Are you Mrs. Potter?" She asked politely.  
  
"Yes, I am."  
  
"I have Matt, on my horse outside. I think he might have a broken ankle." She said looking rather apologetic as if it was her fault that Matt was hurt.  
  
"Oh dear, let's have a look at him then." Ginny said putting the bear she was still holding down on the kitchen table and followed the girl outside to see her son. Sure enough there was Matt looking very sorry for himself sitting on a horse. "What have you done now Matthew James Potter?"  
  
"It wasn't my fault I swear! That crazy girl ran me down and I hurt my ankle trying to get out of the way!" Matt defended himself.  
  
"I promise I didn't see him ma'am! I was riding in the surf and then all of a sudden he was in the way. If I had seen him I would have slowed down I didn't mean to hurt him!" Beth said desperately hoping she wasn't going to get into trouble for nearly killing Matt.  
  
"It's all right, love, there's no need to get so upset. If I know my son he wasn't paying much attention to you either, at least, not until you were nearly on top of him." Ginny laughed as she watch each child try to get itself out of the doghouse. She turned her attention back to Matt and wondered how she was going to get him into the house without the girl noticing any magic. Slowly she pulled her wand out of her pocket and quietly cast a simple levitating charm. Then she pretended to lift Matt out of the saddle and carry him inside.  
  
Once inside she put him down on the kitchen table and set about inspecting his ankle. It was all swollen and he yipped when she moved it taking his shoe off. "Well, I'm afraid that this is most definitely broken." She said gently lowering his leg. She walked up to one of the cabinets and took out a bottle filled with thick purple liquid. She poured some into a glass and mixed it with some water before handing it to Matt to drink. "Sit still a minute and drink up. Then I'll make arrangements for a doctor."  
  
"But surely it's not that bad!" the girl exclaimed. Ginny looked at her quizzically.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"I mean aren't you even going to try and fix it? You do have a wand don't you? You're not a squib are you?"  
  
"No, I'm not, but how did you know about that?" Ginny asked pulling her wand out and quickly charming Matt's ankle back to its original un-broken state.  
  
"I go to school with Matt." The girl answered.  
  
"Mum meet Elizabeth Rivers, Elizabeth meet my mum." Matt said grinning like the Cheshire cat. Ginny looked from Matt to Beth and began to laugh.  
  
"Mummy," a quiet voice interrupted their merry making.  
  
"Yes love." Ginny answered turning towards the door into the house.  
  
"Lotty's crying."  
  
"Thank you Tessa. Elizabeth, it was lovely to meet you, but as you can see I have another family emergency to attend to." Beth just smiled as Ginny disappeared into the house.  
  
"So that's your mum." She said to Matt. He nodded yes.  
  
"She's great! Who's this?" "That's Tessa. Well, Theresa but we all call her Tessa. She's turning six in December." Matt answered.  
  
"Hello Tessa, I'm Elizabeth." Beth said to the little girl. Tessa ran to her brother who was back on his feet now and buried her face in his jacket. Beth laughed, "I takes it she's shy."  
  
"Very. The sister who's bawling her eyes out upstairs is Charlotte or Lotty; she's turning four in October. My other sister is Lucy, who's just turned eleven. She'll be coming to Hogwarts next term." Matt explained.  
  
"I don't have any brothers or sisters." Beth said sadly. She was both grateful and sad that she didn't have siblings, but she loved little children.  
  
"You're welcome to mine if you want them!" Matt laughed messing up Tessa's perfectly smooth dark brown hair. Beth looked at Tessa closely trying to find similarities between her and her brother, but she found none. Tessa had dark brown hair that was cut into a bob that hung smoothly on her head, unlike Matt's messy bush that stood out on all directions! She also had emerald green eyes and not brown likes Matt's.  
  
Matt bent down and picked her and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Tessa giggled and flashed her tiny little white teeth as she smiled widely. "Right, let's go find mum and tell her that we're taking you for a ride on a horse!" Matt laughed twirling round and round. Tessa laughed happily as she clutched his shoulders, Matt began jogging up the stairs before turning round and facing Beth. "It is alright isn't it? If we take her round the garden once or twice?"  
  
"Of course! I think it'll be fun." Beth said, 'she certainly looks like she'll enjoy it!' she thought silently to herself watching Matt tickle her as he ran up the stairs to his mum. He was very good with little children Beth thought. There must be a very big age gap between him and his sisters. And he must love them very much.  
  
Matt turned round again when he reached the top of the stairs, "Are you coming or what?"  
  
"Ja, sure." Beth answered running up to join him. 


	13. Friendships

The waves crashed on to the beach as if they were trying to escape from the ocean. The salty sea spray leapt into the air soaking everything in its reach, and the wind rushed around chasing itself over the sand. Matt loved everything about this beach. It was his private haven and everything about it seemed to match his mood. When he was angry so was the ocean, when he was peaceful it was too. Every mood, every feeling he had was reflected by his beloved stretch of sand that lay under his house.  
  
Today was different though, he was bored and the ocean seemed to be taunting him. He sat glaring at the waves like they were insulting him. He'd come down here to get away from his annoying family but found no comfort where he normally looked for it. He'd been home for nearly two weeks and already he felt like he was going to go crazy of boredom!  
  
He was so absorbed in being angry that he didn't notice the strange noise that didn't belong to his beach. It was a rhythmic dum-dum, dum-dum like a galloping horse. Matt's head snapped up. There were no horses the far down the lane were there? He turned around from where he was standing and saw the large animal gracefully running in the wake of the waves, spraying water everywhere.  
  
It was coming towards very quickly and he could help but admire the smooth fluid motions it made. That's when Matt realize that he was standing in the path of a charging horse whose rider hadn't noticed him yet. Matt's mind raced, he had to get out of the way! He turned to run but his foot sank in the sand and he tripped falling flat on his face in the sand, his ankle throbbing madly.  
  
"OH! I'm so sorry I didn't notice you at all!" a voice invaded his pain drugged. It was a familiar voice that he knew well, but he could place it. He was vaguely aware of the sound of a person dismounting and felt a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself? Must I get help?"  
  
"Slow down, one question at a time please." He said gruffly.  
  
The hand on his shoulder froze, then with renewed effort the girl tried to turn him over. "Come on get up if you're not hurt, Matt." Matt turned round and slowly got up, it was only then that he got a good look at the girl he was leaning on.  
  
"Beth?" He asked perplexed, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I could ask you the same question actually, I live down the beach. Can you walk?" She asked her grey eyes full of concern and guilt. She had been having so much fun that she hadn't been watching where Southern was going. If she had been she would've slowed down in time. Matt took a step forward and his legs buckled beneath him.  
  
"I think I've sprained my ankle," he groaned.  
  
"All right hang on," Beth said as she ran for her horse.  
  
"What are you doing?" Matt asked the pain in his ankle was becoming worse; he had to get home so his mother could heal it.  
  
"I'm taking you home."  
  
"Do you know where I live?"  
  
"Well, no, but you're going to tell me."  
  
"And how are going to get me there?"  
  
"On my horse." She said as if it where the most obvious thing in the world. She led the horse right up to Matt and once again helped him up.  
  
"How am I supposed to get on that thing?" Matt asked sceptically.  
  
"Support your weight on your good leg, and put your knee in my hands. Then pull yourself up with your arms while I push your leg up. The swing it over the saddle." She explained, and then she got onto one knee and made a cradle with her hands. Matt did as she told him to with Beth correcting things he was doing wrong. He was surprised to find that it was actually easier than it looked.  
  
Once Matt was seated safely in the saddle Beth swung herself up in front of him. "Now, hold on tight alright?"  
  
"Okay." Matt answered. Beth gathered the reins in her had and gently kicked the horse in the side. He started to move forward.  
  
"Right, where to?" Beth asked over her shoulder. Matt told her where to go and Beth urged to horse to go faster and faster until they were travelling at a nice slow canter. Matt had never been on a horse before and was rather frightened though he would have died before he admitted that to Beth. She shouted at him to sit still and to move with the animal before picking up the pace again.  
  
In no time at all they were in sight of his house. It was called Gurthlow Cottage; the name came from mixing different letters from the names of each member of his family. His parents had moved here when his sister Charlotte had been born seven years ago. It was a beautiful house and a much better place to raise a family that their old house in London. "You live here?" Beth asked awed.  
  
"Yeah, why?"  
  
"I love this house! Are the little girls you're sisters?"  
  
"Yeah." Matt answered. Beth just nodded and stopped outside his outside his back door. "Stay here. I'll go in and get your mum."  
  
"I'm quite capable of walking myself!" Matt said indignantly.  
  
"No you're not. In case you don't remember, you have a severely sprained maybe broken ankle. You'll damage it more if you try to walk on it, so stay here." Beth answered leaving no room for argument. Matt crossed his arms angrily over his chest and sulked as Beth walked up to the house and knocked on the door. ~*~*~ Ginny picked a teddy bear up of the living room floor and smiled to herself. She loved her children they were the most beautiful creatures on the planet as far as she was concerned. Each one reminded her so strongly of Harry, either in looks or character. Matt was his father's child through and through, Lucy had Harry's temper and control, Tessa had his eyes, and Lotty his sense of adventure. They all had dark hair, though the girls had Ginny's red highlights, and they were what her world revolved around.  
  
Ginny had changed a lot since her Hogwarts days. Her figure had changed shape having carried and delivered four children, although she was still tall and slim her figure was fuller. Her hair was now worn in a short bob, but her eyes stilled held their schoolgirl charm and she had laugh lines radiating from the corners of her eyes. All in all she was a very good looking thirty-two years of age.  
  
Ginny heard a very quite knock at the back door just as she was about to head upstairs to check on Charlotte. Puzzled Ginny turned and headed for the kitchen. No one ever knocked, they always just aparated or flooed. When she entered the kitchen Ginny saw a small girl standing on the doorstep. She looked to be about eleven and had long, curly blonde hair and was wearing riding boots and jodhpurs.  
  
"Hello. Can I help you?" Ginny asked gently smiling at the girl through the screen door.  
  
"Are you Mrs. Potter?" She asked politely.  
  
"Yes, I am."  
  
"I have Matt, on my horse outside. I think he might have a broken ankle." She said looking rather apologetic as if it was her fault that Matt was hurt.  
  
"Oh dear, let's have a look at him then." Ginny said putting the bear she was still holding down on the kitchen table and followed the girl outside to see her son. Sure enough there was Matt looking very sorry for himself sitting on a horse. "What have you done now Matthew James Potter?"  
  
"It wasn't my fault I swear! That crazy girl ran me down and I hurt my ankle trying to get out of the way!" Matt defended himself.  
  
"I promise I didn't see him ma'am! I was riding in the surf and then all of a sudden he was in the way. If I had seen him I would have slowed down I didn't mean to hurt him!" Beth said desperately hoping she wasn't going to get into trouble for nearly killing Matt.  
  
"It's all right, love, there's no need to get so upset. If I know my son he wasn't paying much attention to you either, at least, not until you were nearly on top of him." Ginny laughed as she watch each child try to get itself out of the doghouse. She turned her attention back to Matt and wondered how she was going to get him into the house without the girl noticing any magic. Slowly she pulled her wand out of her pocket and quietly cast a simple levitating charm. Then she pretended to lift Matt out of the saddle and carry him inside.  
  
Once inside she put him down on the kitchen table and set about inspecting his ankle. It was all swollen and he yipped when she moved it taking his shoe off. "Well, I'm afraid that this is most definitely broken." She said gently lowering his leg. She walked up to one of the cabinets and took out a bottle filled with thick purple liquid. She poured some into a glass and mixed it with some water before handing it to Matt to drink. "Sit still a minute and drink up. Then I'll make arrangements for a doctor."  
  
"But surely it's not that bad!" the girl exclaimed. Ginny looked at her quizzically.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"I mean aren't you even going to try and fix it? You do have a wand don't you? You're not a squib are you?"  
  
"No, I'm not, but how did you know about that?" Ginny asked pulling her wand out and quickly charming Matt's ankle back to its original un-broken state.  
  
"I go to school with Matt." The girl answered.  
  
"Mum meet Elizabeth Rivers, Elizabeth meet my mum." Matt said grinning like the Cheshire cat. Ginny looked from Matt to Beth and began to laugh.  
  
"Mummy," a quiet voice interrupted their merry making.  
  
"Yes love." Ginny answered turning towards the door into the house.  
  
"Lotty's crying."  
  
"Thank you Tessa. Elizabeth, it was lovely to meet you, but as you can see I have another family emergency to attend to." Beth just smiled as Ginny disappeared into the house.  
  
"So that's your mum." She said to Matt. He nodded yes.  
  
"She's great! Who's this?" "That's Tessa. Well, Theresa but we all call her Tessa. She's turning six in December." Matt answered.  
  
"Hello Tessa, I'm Elizabeth." Beth said to the little girl. Tessa ran to her brother who was back on his feet now and buried her face in his jacket. Beth laughed, "I takes it she's shy."  
  
"Very. The sister who's bawling her eyes out upstairs is Charlotte or Lotty; she's turning four in October. My other sister is Lucy, who's just turned eleven. She'll be coming to Hogwarts next term." Matt explained.  
  
"I don't have any brothers or sisters." Beth said sadly. She was both grateful and sad that she didn't have siblings, but she loved little children.  
  
"You're welcome to mine if you want them!" Matt laughed messing up Tessa's perfectly smooth dark brown hair. Beth looked at Tessa closely trying to find similarities between her and her brother, but she found none. Tessa had dark brown hair that was cut into a bob that hung smoothly on her head, unlike Matt's messy bush that stood out on all directions! She also had emerald green eyes and not brown likes Matt's.  
  
Matt bent down and picked her and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Tessa giggled and flashed her tiny little white teeth as she smiled widely. "Right, let's go find mum and tell her that we're taking you for a ride on a horse!" Matt laughed twirling round and round. Tessa laughed happily as she clutched his shoulders, Matt began jogging up the stairs before turning round and facing Beth. "It is alright isn't it? If we take her round the garden once or twice?"  
  
"Of course! I think it'll be fun." Beth said, 'she certainly looks like she'll enjoy it!' she thought silently to herself watching Matt tickle her as he ran up the stairs to his mum. He was very good with little children Beth thought. There must be a very big age gap between him and his sisters. And he must love them very much.  
  
Matt turned round again when he reached the top of the stairs, "Are you coming or what?"  
  
"Ja, sure." Beth answered running up to join him. 


End file.
